TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner joined other tribal leaders and community members in Tulsa’s historic Greenwood district to celebrate Black History Month and announce new plans to honor Cherokee Freedmen.
“Cherokee Nation is committed to equality, not only meeting the letter of the law, but embracing the spirit of equality and continuing on our path of healing and reconciliation,” said Chief Hoskin. “Today we reaffirm that commitment and announce steps to go further.”
Chief Hoskin announced that Cherokee Nation will seek submissions for a Freedmen monument to be placed on the tribe’s historic capital square in Tahlequah.
The tribe’s Freedmen Art and History Committee will be involved in evaluating submissions, which can be made at Cherokeebids.org.
“Progress on equality requires the attention of all of us,” said Deputy Chief Bryan Warner. “The Cherokee people, at our core, are good people who share common bonds and, on that basis, we will make progress.
During the event, Chief Hoskin also reported on initiatives he announced last year.
Under the tribe’s Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act, Cherokee Nation will build a $2 million community center in north Tulsa. Chief Hoskin unveiled a rendering of the facility, which will be located at 1205 E 46th Street North in Tulsa, and announced that a call for construction bids would be released this week.
The North Tulsa Cherokee Community Organization will operate the facility, which should open by the end of 2025.
Chief Hoskin said progress continues on efforts in Congress to change federal criminal law that discriminates against Cherokee citizens of Freedmen descent.
As Cherokee Nation continues to implement its largest housing investment in history under the Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act, Chief Hoskin said the investment will span the reservation, but must include areas where there has historically been under investment, including north Tulsa
During the event, Chief Hoskin announced that the tribe secured $1.9 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and will work with local parters to bring more housing to north Tulsa.
“I am reminded of the many stories told to me by my good friend and fellow Cherokee, Gerome Riley. He’s like a walking history book and he has told me many stories about his life where he experienced racial discrimination because of the color of his skin,” said Deputy Speaker of the Council Kevin Easley. “Whether it was the racism he experienced in sports, at his place of work, or the struggles he faced being recognized as Cherokee, they are all appalling to sit and listen to, but what is more appalling is that it wasn’t that long ago when this kind of stuff took place. I’m proud of how far we’ve come and the excellent leadership of our current administration. I’m honored to have Greenwood and North Tulsa as a part of our Reservation. After all, we all walked here together.”
Co-hosting Tuesday’s event with Cherokee Nation was the Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Tribes and the North Tulsa Cherokee Community Organization.
“I want to thank the dynamic and progressive leadership of the Cherokee Nation including Chief Hoskin, Deputy Chief Warner, former Chief Bill John Baker and former Deputy Chief S. Joe Crittenden, for their work to keep the commitments to the Freedmen that were made in the Treaty of 1866,” said Cherokee Nation citizen, Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association President and Cherokee Nation Environmental Protection Commission member Marilyn Vann. “The Cherokee Nation has become a strong and mighty Nation because we have leaders who are willing to pull the tribe together. The Cherokee Freedmen have been a part of this tribe in one way or another since before Removal; the Freedmen people came on the Trail of Tears with everybody else, took part in that hardship and helped build the tribe afterwards to what it is today.”